Pilots have a unique viewpoint while flying private or commercial aircraft. They get an unobstructed view of stunning natural sights, such as pink lakes and rectangular-shaped icebergs. Some have reported seeing UFOs, while others have flown over swirling hurricanes.
Recall that flying under Visual Flight Rules, the pilot must use the earth and/or the horizon as a visual reference for all of their flying, so it's important that they're able to see as well as they can.
Primarily, the "ILS," as it is commonly known, consists of two radio beams emitted from transmitters right next to the runway. All pilots have to do is follow the beams down to 200 feet above the ground, at which point they must be able to see the runway and its approach lights.
When aircraft fly inside clouds, they fly under "instrument rules". It doesn't matter whether the visibility is reduced (at night) or totally blocked (in a thick cloud), this mode of flying simply assumes the crew has no external visual reference, they fly solely using indications given by on-board instruments.
Today, pilots navigate using GPS-based systems in their aircraft. They fly between imaginary vertical points known as waypoints that are stored in the aircraft GPS database.
How Pilots Find Their Way in the Sky | CITY IN THE SKY | PBS
Do pilots get scared?
Pilots in peril
Pilots are trained to handle all sorts of nerve-racking situations, but that doesn't mean that they don't get scared—especially in these real instances, told by the pilots who experienced them, of serious in-flight fear.
The simple answer is yes, pilots do and are allowed to sleep during flight but there are strict rules controlling this practice. Pilots would only normally sleep on long haul flights, although sleep on short haul flights is permitted to avoid the effects of fatigue.
Flying over the Pacific Ocean is avoided by most airlines for most flights because it usually doesn't make sense to fly over it when shorter and safer routes exist. The Pacific Ocean is also more remote and less safe than the Indian and Atlantic Oceans to fly over, resulting in a higher chance of a plane crashing.
Due to the low levels of travel during the night, and the cold breezes that tend to happen at night, many pilots tend to find it easier to fly at night than they do during the day. This is because there isn't as much friction against the wings, which allows the flight to be smoother, and hopefully without turbulence.
Flying in turbulence happens when the plane is caught up in disrupted airflow during the flight. Planes can shake in turbulence. While some of them can be mild, some can be violent. Pilots can inform passengers in case of turbulence and all passengers are required to fasten their seat belts.
Pilots need to stay awake and alert at all times so they can be ready to take control of the airplane at a moment's notice. Some of the ways pilots stay awake include drinking caffeine, getting plenty of rest the day/night before, staying busy, keeping the cockpit warm and the lights bright.
A: Many of the large airplanes have cameras to help the pilot see the taxiways. Fortunately, modern electronic flight bags include taxi maps with the airplane's position displayed.
Planes don't fly lower at night; they have the same cruising altitudes as to what they fly at during the day. There is no safety reason for aircraft to fly lower at night, it is perfectly safe for them to do so.
When the aircraft is not pressurized, either on the ground or if depressurized during the flight (intentionally or due to accident), then they can be opened. On most modern aircraft, the opening procedure is the same. The window is unlatched, and it then slides inwards into the cockpit and opens to the side.
The short answer is no. If you've ever gazed out your window into the inky blackness during a nighttime flight, you've probably wondered how the pilots are able to see anything from the cockpit.
If you're asleep, you cannot do anything to reduce or equalize the air pressure in your ears. Your ears stay blocked, and you potentially face health issues like dizziness, ear infections, eardrum damage, and at worst, nosebleeds and hearing loss. Sleep can do more harm than good during takeoff.
While flying over a metropolitan or densely populated area at night, it's likely that you won't see stars from the airplane window. This is because the excessive artificial lighting (i.e., light pollution) of the city can light up the sky above it, making it glow.
The current longest direct flight route in the world is between Singapore and New York, which takes 17 and a half hours to cover 15,349 kilometres. Cathay's new route would cover much more distance but actually be quicker, likely due to jet streams.
Summertime is the safest season to fly. Earlier in the day is the safest time of day to fly. More accidents occur later in the day when the pilots are tired, especially when the weather is bad and there have been delays.
Short answer: There are a few reasons, including the lack of parachute training of passengers, high speed of the airplane, cold temperatures at that altitude, non-conducive design of commercial planes and the cost spike, which make putting parachutes onboard commercial airplanes unviable.
The vacuum toilet used on planes, patented by James Kemper in 1975, sucks the waste into a holding tank where it is stored until the plane lands on the ground. Blue liquid, called Skykem, disinfects the bowl and helps kill odours. When you say planes “usually” wait until they have landed to empty the tank …
The first men to fly over Mount Everest did so in an unpressurized biplane | Mashable. The two planes fly towards Lhotse and Everest at 32,000 feet. Though the 29,029-foot-high summit of Mount Everest was first conquered on foot by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in 1953, it was conquered by air two decades earlier.
Do Airline Pilots Carry Guns? The good news is that airline pilots do carry guns, and the even better news is that they're fully trained to use them should they need to.
Pilots put on the cup or pad beneath a special pair of underwear. When it's time to go, the pilot connects the cup or pad with a tube leading to a pump outside the flight suit. The battery-operated pump pulls the urine through the tube to a collection bag, where the pee is stored until the end of the mission.
If a passenger jet flies too high, it reaches a point called 'Coffin Corner'. This is the point at which the aircraft's low speed stall and high-speed buffet meet and the plane can no longer maintain its altitude which forces it to descend.
